Name GEOL 104 Dinosaurs A Natural History Smithsonian Assignment II Mesozoic Marine Life and the Cenozoic Era DUE December 4 The Smithsonian Institution s National Museum of Natural History NMNH has one of the largest collections of dinosaur and other fossils in the world This exercise will concentrate on the wonderful dinosaur fossils on exhibit The Smithsonian museums are free hours for the NMNH are 10 am to 5 30 pm 7 days a week You can take the Metro from the College Park Station to any of a number of stations near the Museum The quickest route is the Green Line from the UMd College Park Station to Archives Navy Memorial you don t have to change trains and the NMNH is just on the other side of the Archives Building For this exercise you may wish to bring along the dinosaur cladograms handed out in class You may work in teams and discuss your answers however ALL WORK YOU TURN IN MUST BE YOUR OWN To comply with University Senate regulations please sign the following so that you may receive credit for this assignment I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment Signature UID Date This package works as sort of a self guided tour It will start you at the Mesozoic section of the Life in the Ancient Seas Hall and then take you into the Hall of Fossil Mammals and Hall of Ice Age Mammals to get a glimpse at life after the Age of the Dinosaurs Some things to keep in mind Remember proper handwritten taxonomic grammar o Genera have one word capitalized and underlined names o Examples Giganotosaurus Brachiosaurus Species have two word underlined names the first part of the name which is the same as the genus name is capitalized but the second part of the name is not Examples Giganotosaurus carolinii Brachiosaurus altithorax When given a choice of items in bracket circle the appropriate answer 1 Name PART I SANT OCEAN HALL The newest major hall at the Smithsonian is the Sant Ocean Hall It is directly opposite the main entrance to the museum beyond the elephant on the first floor The Ocean Hall has a big central concourse that concentrates on ocean life a right hand path that focuses on environments and human interactions and a left hand path about fossil marine life Head over to that left hand path and we ll explore some issues about Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine life and the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event Down the middle of the fossil marine life section are a set of free standing displays Find the one of these labeled A Reef Built by Clams This exhibit concentrates on rudists a group of extinct clams that were the major reefbuilders in the Cretaceous seas There are two major groups of rudists described characterized by the different way they grow uprights and recliners 1 Which mode of growth does Titanosarcolites sp show upright recliner 2 Which mode of growth does Parastroma sanchezi show upright recliner The long wall of the fossil section labeled Global Vanishing Acts discusses two great mass extinctions the Permo Triassic extinction and the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction We will focus on the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction find the section labeled The Sky is Falling and specifically the part that says How Do We Know On display are models of two deep sea cores that sample sediments from before during and after the CretaceousPaleogene extinction 3 Where was the ODP Site 1049 core drilled 4 Where was the ODP Site 1259 core drilled The exhibit describes the changes in the foraminiferans armored amoeba like single celled organisms over the event 5 The average size of foraminiferans just after the extinction were smaller the same size larger than those before 6 The number of species of foraminferans just after the extinction was fewer the same greater than those before the extinction 2 Name The core also contains non fossil geological materials that record the impact of the asteroid in the Yucat n Two types of materials are present in these cores one is found in both cores on only shown in ODP 1049 7 List one of these non fossil geologic records of the impact Extra Credit List the other of these non fossil geologic records of the impact Find the section labeled Survivors 8 What ecological types that is ways of life does it say were among the better survivors in the sea Turn around and find the section labeled The Evolution of the Whale Look up to find the skeletons of Maiacetus inuus Dorodon atrox and Basilosaurus cetoides primitive whales from the early part of the Cenozoic Era Of these three Maiacetus is the oldest and the most primitive Dorudon is the intermediate and Basilosaurus is the closest to modern whales although it is still far more primitive than any living whale 9 Over their early history whales decreased remained the same size increased in size 10 Over their early history the size of the hindlimb of whales decreased remained the same size increased 11 In which of these genera is the pelvic girdle still attached to the vertebral column PART II MESOZOIC MARINE LIFE Go back out to the central rotunda of the museum with the elephant and go into the Hall of Ancient Life in the Seas This hall as a whole documents marine vertebrate invertebrate and plant life throughout the last 542 million years with fossils a great mural and some life restoration models hanging about Go through the Paleozoic Era section and make your way to the Mesozoic fossils that is go underneath the sign labeled Act Two The Mesozoic Era The particular section you are in contains exhibits on the marine life of the Age of Dinosaurs 3 Name Find the Mesozoic marine reptiles These are mounted in front of or directly below the mural and a few are in glass cases along the rail Match the letter of the description to the species of marine reptile on display that it best describes 12 Protostega gigas A Long tail and snake like body huge skull with conical teeth 13 Stenopterygius quadrissicus B Toothed beak reduced forelimbs powerful hindlimbs 14 Dolichorhynchops osborni C Leathery shell toothless beak paddle shaped limbs 15 Tylosaurus proriger D Huge eyes front paddles much larger than hind 16 Hesperornis regalis E Long skull with conical teeth paddle shaped limbs all same size Extra Credit Which of these is technically a member of Dinosauria The seas of the Mesozoic like those of today had diverse types of shellfish invertebrates Many examples are on display some along the wall with the main mural others in the center island and still others on their